The Shifting Sands of Ba Sing Se

”The party from the Takamagahara Clan is approaching, your Majesty - they will be with us momentarily.”

”Good. Bring her here once they arrive.”

The doors of the Throne Room closed slowly behind the messenger, and Lu Meleng straightened his garb. He sat in the High Throne at the end of the room, his platform raised high above ground level. He himself had made the alterations - it wouldn’t do for him to meet one such as Enya Takamagahara without forcing her to look up at him. Her hatred of the Earth Kingdom wasn’t a secret, but Lu Meleng was curious to see how forthright she would be with her feelings - it was one thing to whisper of rebellion in secret, but another thing entirely to spout rebellious words in front of the Earth King - especially an Earth King like Lu Meleng.

At the foot of the steps rising up towards the throne, where petitioners would usually kneel, was a table sporting a fine crystal decanter of amber liquid. The rumours of the Chief’s indulgences had spread even as far as Ba Sing Se, so Lu Meleng was keen to see the truth behind them. On each of the wide steps a magnificent statue was positioned, made of heavy marble and cut in the shape of magnificent creatures from across the Earth Kingdom. Badgermoles featured prominently, but there was also a hog monkey, a platypus bear and, wrapped around the entirety of the throne, a magnificent statue of the Unagi.

They were, for now, decoration - but their purpose was twofold. Heavy Earth such as this was almost impossible for your everyday Earthbender to hope to move at any kind of speed, especially aimed upwards towards where the Monarch sat. From his vantage point, however, it would be a simple case to send them hurtling towards those who displeased him - although it would be a waste of a good statue.

***

Outside of the Throne Room, several officials stood waiting for the Chief to approach. ”Chief of the Takamagahara Clan, we ask that you leave your weapons out here. None may be taken in without the express permission of the Earth King,” they said as she approached, motioning to a nearby table where she could place her weapons, and receive them back after her audience was complete.

***

The doors at the end of the Throne Room started to open slowly, and Lu Meleng repositioned himself for the final time - the Throne was not comfortable, but he could not be seen to be fidgeting upon it when in company. The party appeared in the doorway, and Lu Meleng’s arms moved along the armrests next to him, preparing himself for the audience to come.

Enya was dressed in the finest robes that her family had. The oldest, most traditional robes she could find, with the oldest, most traditional jewelry.

She traveled with full retinue: honour guard, hand maidens, servants, attendants, and every show of luxury she could bring. She brought many gifts as well for the Earth King.

After all, the Earth King and his advisors would be expecting a savage woman of the sands, who slaughtered their soldiers and drank their blood to perform her dark rituals. They were expecting a demon; an uncivilized, uncouth woman who could not handle or conduct herself in a proper political setting. A bumpkin from the sticks.

She was determined to shatter their expectations.

No, she would not be savage.

She would be a Chieftess, a Princess, a Queen. A leader of her people, who held wealth and power and sway. One with power. With every bit the prim and proper poise and eloquence she could muster.

No, it was no her style per say. Far from it. But it was what had to be done for her people. For their independence. War and bloodshed would only get them so far under this oppressive regime. Diplomacy was necessary as well.

She had sent diplomats to the Empire for their support as well, in case her meeting with the Earth King had failed.

Enya was not blind. Independently, her people would be surrounded on all sides by the Earth Kingdom. Sure, this King might be willing to work with her. He was new, he was not the old stubborn goat that had been his predecessor. But who was to say in the future another King would not want the Si Wong Desert back? And the Sand Benders back under his thumb?

She couldn't just build a Kingdom for her people that lasted while she lived. She needed to build a kingdom that would outlast her. Anything other than longevity was failure.

She was announced before the Earth King. She and her massive retinue approached the dais upon where the king sat.

She was asked to deposit her weapons. She concealed a smirk beneath her veil. Enya had come with none.

Then Enya saw that they expected her to sit a table that would place her below the Earth King. She would be forced to look up at him. They expected her to resist. So she gently knelt at the table, and looked up at the King.

This did not have to lead to war.

She greeted the King, bowed reverently and presented him with the gifts of gold and jewels and fine silks that she had brought for him.

"A gift, for your majesty. Please, accept them into your royal treasury. I hope they are to your liking."

Wary eyes swept along the retinue of the Chieftess, and Lu Meleng’s eyes moved up to the doorway. The man there nodded, motioning to somebody behind him. Green clad soldiers walked in the door, falling into step with the visitors, albeit at the edges of the Throne Room. When the party came to a stop, the Royal Guard took their place at the far walls - silent, but ever watchful. They had been the Dai Li once, many many years ago - now they were personal guards to the Earth King, and would take whatever steps were necessary to stop an assault upon his person.

As the gifts were extended, Lu Meleng extended a hand. The gifts, having been placed on the steps below him, rose into the air supported by a block of Earth. They approached the King slowly, and rotated before him as his eyes took in the splendour of the presents. Lu Meleng nodded, eyes turning down to the kneeling Chieftess. ”A Kingly gift - the Earth Kingdom thanks you.” With another wave of his hand the gifts moved off to a doorway at the side of the room, into the waiting arms of one of his servants. They disappeared through the doorway without a word, and the earth crumbled into dust that settled almost invisibly on the ground.

”I would like to welcome all of you to Ba Sing Se - you will of course be housed in suites befitting your rank in the Upper Ring, and I have arranged for a feast in your honour this evening. Let it be known that Ba Sing Se always rewards and protects its loyal vassals.”

The King’s face remained stern, but the men around the walls shifted slightly. If there was ever a time for dissent from the Chieftess, this would be it - and they were ready to strike back.

”It has been many years since I have been to the Si Wong Desert - what news do you bring of the tribes? We receive precious little from them these days - something that I hope will change in the future.”

Was he talking about news? Or was he talking about something else… Perhaps tribute to the new King? Or perhaps taxes, or even soldiers for the army?

”Perhaps it would be wise for me to visit myself, to see just how your way of life differs to ours. After all, it is my sworn duty to represent all people of the Earth Kingdom, the tribes included. They cannot be treated as different than any other citizen, can they?”

At this, his lips curled up slightly at the edge. It was almost bait, dangling in front of the Chieftess - and he begged that she would take it. That she would claim her independence, would take the final step in admitting that the sand benders didn’t belong in the Earth Kingdom right to the King’s face - and then, the desert would be his.

Enya would not take the bait. Not in the way that was expected from her.

"We are well, Your Majesty. We have learned to thrive on trade in the desert, and on navigation of trade caravans for outsiders. Our knowledge of the desert makes us valuable guides. Ever since the unification of the tribes under a single leader, we have been stronger for it. We no longer waste precious lives and resources fighting each other. We can focus on more...pressing matters."

She appreciated the Earth King's hospitality. But she did not appreciate that he spoke with two tongues. Nor that he seemed to just expect her to respect him and fall in line. Respect was earned. Just as she could not expect the Earth King to respect her without having treated with and met her, he could not expect the same as her.

He barked a lot. He talked big. He had big plans no doubt. A dreamer of the day. But would he have the conviction to see it through? Enya was not so certain. Either way, she would win or she would die fighting. She would rather turn the sands to glass and poison every last sand bender than give in without a fight.

"You're always welcome to visit. It would be an honour to show you how far we come. We no longer live in squalor in the dirt, with nomadic peoples squabbling over precious resources. I would very much like to show you. The capital is the jewel of the sands."

Enya smirked. She could not resist a slight barb. "Though, I do not think you can count citizens of those who never ceded their lands. It is unfair to consider a land ceded when all one did was encircle them and lay claim to an otherwise apathetic people."

Silence greeted the end of the woman’s words, and the guards around the edge of the throne room shifted uncomfortably. And then the King let out a peal of deep barking laughter, so loud and encompassing that it seemed to shake the very foundations of the Palace.

”It would seem that you have a lot to learn of history and the laws of conquest, Enya Takamagahara. The Si Wong Desert belongs to the Earth Kingdom, and nothing has been done to change that. You may mount any number of petty rebellions that you wish, but know that it will never amount to anything more than death and desolation for those that you seem to care about.”

He turned over one of his large hands, palm now facing upwards. ”It would not be the wisest decision, but it is certainly a course of action. However, another lays open to you…” He turned his other hand over, palm also now facing upwards. ”Although I have no doubt that a show of force would bring the people of the Si Wong Desert in order, it is not a course that I am eager to take. You, however, can save your people from such a fate. I did not take this office so that I could sit on the glories of the past, nor do I intend to follow in the footsteps of my forebears. The future is ever-changing, and all of the people of the Earth Kingdom need to play their part in shaping it.”

He sat forwards in his chair, locking his stony gaze with the Chieftess. ”The Si Wong Desert needs leadership, that much is certain. I believe that you are the one to bring that to them, and to ensure peace and prosperity for your people. I would name you as Queen of the Si Wong Desert, a regency beholden to none but the throne of the Earth King. You, along with the King of Omashu and the Council of Five, would play a vital rule in the governance and diplomatic relations of our great Kingdom. Your autonomy would be almost absolute, in return for your fair share of taxes and, if the time of war came, the supply of troops as deemed necessary by the state. All you need to do is swear your fealty to me, and the fealty of your people.”

He turned his hands over, fists clenching as he did so.

”The choice is yours, Enya Takamagahara. Be the Leader that ushers in a new wave of prosperity and peace to the Earth Kingdom, or be remembered as the one who caused the devastation of the sandbender tribes.”

Now it was Enya's turn to be shocked and surprised at the unexpected gestures of the Earth King.

In the past century there had been four different Earth Kings who had spent their life's work making the Sand Benders feel inferior and lesser than Earth Benders.

They had raided, raped and pillaged. They had treated Enya's people with disdain. When they needed levies for wars the Sand Benders never started, it was her people they used as fodder. When they needed taxes to pay off their luxurious debts and massive palatial expenditures, it was the Sand Benders they kicked until money came out.

This would not have been so bad if they're had been some sort of reciprocation, or recognition for their service to the crown...but none came.

Yet here, this Earth King, new to the throne, was offering Enya and her people a...compromise.

Enya had to take a moment to ensure she wasn't dreaming.

It wasn't the most ideal option. Full independence would be nice, and many of her people and advisors would require convincing...but to be thrown a tablescrap after decades of starvation was not something Enya was going to turn her nose up at.

Besides, this was a fairly substantial tablescrap that it almost didn't deserve to be called that.

Vassalage, was really what the Earth Kingdom requested. Vassalage, with the proper payments and dues required, but with more equality, similar to that of Omashu. And the exercise of political power within the echelons of the Earth Kingdom government. That was something a Sand Bender had never had before.

This vassalage could mean a new start for her people. Prosperity and freedom and equality they had always asked and demanded. The respect they were afforded would be given. It could mean great things.

But it could also mean another form of servitude. Maybe not under this Earth King, but under future Earth Kings. This King may be sincere, for Enya could tell no signs of him lying, but would his descendants? Would another Earth King feel the same? Earth Benders were not known for their sudden, or even gradual, change of minds. They were stubborn, proud people who rarely let tradition slip so easily.

Enya needed to be careful. She needed to think this over and breach the matter with her advisors and the other clan leaders.

"Your Majesty," she said, realizing that she had likely been sitting there, dumbstruck and silent for far too long to be considered proper. "I must admit, I thought I would be surprising you today. But it seems you, too, have surprised me. I am...truthfully I am honoured by your offer. But I do need time to think this over. Please take no offence. I would like the time to breach the matter with my advisors and the other clan leaders. Some may be for it, while others may take some convincing."

"If I am being honest I am...touched by your generosity. It's not what I have spent my life fighting for but...it is the recognition and respect that we have craved for so long. A compromise that none of your predecessors would ever have considered, let alone thought up themselves. I am not...against it. But I need some time to think. Would this be satisfactory?"

Lu Meleng was barely able to contain his grin as he saw the shock registering on the Chieftess’s face. But beneath the shock was a careful visage of contemplation, one that seemed to be considering if there was some barb beneath the gift - and she was of course wise to think so.

”Time you shall have, Chieftess - but I cannot delay forever. If you cannot bring the clans under your rule then I will be forced to find somebody else who can - and more likely than not they will not be of the sandbender tribes. Do not class this as mere generosity, however - you are currently the best suited to bring the Si Wong Desert back into the folds of the Earth Kingdom where it belongs. If that changes, you will not find me so generous.”

The mention of his predecessors had sent a strange feeling through Lu Meleng’s stomach - like any Earthbender he was loath to do away with tradition, but in times like this, it was necessary. ”For too long the estrangement of the Si Wong Desert has been the greatest failure of the office I hold. This is an offer that should have been made generations ago in order to maintain the peace that the Monarchy has so sought after.”

He waved a hand at the party, eyes moving towards the door at the far end of the Throne Room. ”You have one week, Enya Takamagahara. Come back to me ready to bend the knee and rise as Queen of the Si Wong Desert, or I will be forced to personally descend upon the Desert with much less conciliatory terms. Either way, this matter will be dealt with soon. Your decision will decide the fate of your people, and your descendants to come. Choose wisely, Chieftess - and choose swiftly.”

One week was not a long time.

Truthfully, the Earth King seemed to want this over as quickly as Enya. She could not fault him for it. He was a new king who needed order and congruency.

It was not the ideal relationship, and many had died for true independence. But this chance was better than no chance, and no one knew what the future brought.

Her people wouldn't hold out long against the might of the Earth Kingdom, and even by calling upon old treaties with allies in other nations, she might not be able to muster enough of a force without causing a global war--which was detestable to everyone.

Could she convince everyone in a week? Perhaps. Though, Enya was prepared to do far more than convince if she had to. Even if by force or by blood, would there be peace and would there be at least some respect and recognition.

By one method or another, she would bend the knee. But she needed a majority first. Bending the knee in this situation was not quite so terrible. She would gain honour, and political power, more akin to the King of Omashu than of some grovelling local official. For that she was grateful.

Though Enya was curious as to what the great rush was. Why did this Earth King need peace so quickly...what were his plans after, and why did she only have a week? These were questions for later. So long as he had no plans for going back on his word, and they were not the reason for the rush, then she had no issues with any rush or plans he had.

"Give me that week, and I will return with your answer. I cannot speak for my people now, but I will send word when I have...agreeance."

A slow nod was the Earth King’s response. Tension that had started to build in the room seemed to fade away, and Lu Meleng saw several of the guards stationed at the edge of the room soften. He raised a hand slowly, motioning vaguely.

”The road here has been long and hard for your party - it would be remiss of me to send you away without showing you proper hospitality. Rooms have been prepared for all of you, and you are free to freshen up and rest as needed. I have arranged for a meal to be held in your honour, and several of the nobles of Ba Sing Se have agreed to be present. My steward will come to you when preparations are made - until then, you are free to roam as you wish.”

The soldiers around the room, as if acting on some unseen signal, banged the butts of their spears against the floor in unison. The large doors at the end of the Throne Room re-opened, and the party from the Si Wong Desert was slowly encouraged from the room.

***

It was many hours later that the steward came to fetch the entourage from their suites in the East Wing of the Palace. They were suites usually reserved for visiting Heads of State from the other Nations, as well as sometimes being home to the King of Omashu. Being given such a suite was a sign that Lu Meleng considered this deal as good as sealed - if the Chieftess could not bring the tribes together, nobody could.

They were led to one of the larger entertaining halls, with a large rectangular table in the center. Various members of Earth Kingdom nobility milled around, sharing drinks and conversation with their fellows. The Earth King, as ever, was not there - his appearance always came with the announcement that it was time to sit and eat.

As the party entered, a quiet settled over the room as they turned expectantly towards the steward who had led them in.

”Presenting Enya Takamagahara of the Takamagahara Clan, and her entourage.”

The Earth King had been very hospitable to her and her retinue. He did not spit upon her, or scoff, or roll his eyes when she spoke. He listened to her, he respected her, at least as a human, if not as an equal. And in truth, Enya knew the Sand Benders, even as a unified force, were not equal in power to even the Air Kingdom, let alone the Earth Kingdom.

But the respect was still greatly appreciated after the previous Earth King.

While Enya was looking forward to spending some more time with the Earth King--he seemed and intelligent and intriguing man, and she wished to pick his brain and discuss a great many things with him; something she would never do with the previous Earth King--she was less enthused to meet the nobility.

The Earth King was a radical compared to his predecessor. But the nobility...how would they react to a Sand Bender in their midst? Especially one so vocal and loathe of the Earth Kingdom--or at least she had been. Today had done much to, if not change her mind, at least make her think twice about it.

Would the nobles scorn and mock her? Or would she be as welcomed by them as she had been by the Earth King?

Time to find out.

Enya entered the room in a stunning red and gold dress made of silk and cloth of gold. Intricate designs of desert flowers and desert birds intertwined with one another crawled up the red fabric in gold filigree like creeping ivy. She was adorned with large jewels set in ornately crafted gold jewelry. A large necklace, several bangles and rings, and the ancient tiara of her tribe. Her veil was made with cloth of silver, and came from her tiara, draping down over her face.

It was an extravagant piece that had been passed between chieftesses of the Takamagahara clan for at least the past century. It was also good for making a statement.

Her bangles rang together, creating a harmonic rhythem as she walked, and it definitely displayed the wealth of the Sand Benders. To the Earth King, this was nothing more than Enya at her best. They had had, at least between them, an agreement. Both knew how they wanted these talks to end, and Enya would do her best to compromise her people with them.

It was the other nobles that would now need to view her as not just another desert savage.

Enya bowed before the Earth King, and scanned the nobles in the room before taking her place at the table.